February 29, 2008
Did you know...?
A person's mind can make him/her believe that they are sick? On the flip side, the way we think can potentially boost our health?
Surveys estimate that over 90% of doctors visits are due to health problems influenced at least in part by stress (psychosomatic-related illness). This doesn't mean most people are hypochondriacs, imagining they're sick, just that our mental states can affect or contribute to negative or positive well-being. Psychosomatic literally means "of the mind and body." Psychosomatic illness originates with emotional stress or damaging thought patterns, but has physical symptoms that are real and can harm you as much as symptoms that originate from other means. Psychosomatic illness is more common than most people realize!
Similarly, Safety also has psychosomatic impacts, strongly affected by mental states of attitude, attention, motivation, willingness to listen, understanding of directions or procedures, inner stresses, and more…
Safety professionals have successfully enlisted the help of technology to reduce external contributors to injuries. But many companies have arrived at the point of diminishing returns. Not surprisingly, strains and sprains continue to be the most costly injuries in many companies. Especially with increasingly autonomous workers who act as they think best, or with an aging workforce affected by sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss), lessened ability to react quickly, reduced flexibility, and more.
While all Safety performance is strongly affected by mental states - from driving accidents, struck by/against, and slips/trips/falls to hand injuries, etc. Soft-tissue injuries are especially impacted by mental states.. State of mind affects numerous critical actions - planning out positions, work set-up, selecting techniques to employ, redirecting force, choosing alternative actions as loads shift or footing changes, as well as pain tolerance and more.
You can help employees readily increase their mental control, elevating Safety. Here's how to start:
1. Identify and overcome current "mental approaches" that have shown limited success. Because many companies realize the impact of the mental aspects of Safety, most try to address this in some--but, regrettably, not in most-effective--ways. These may include: "Write it off" ("How can we possibly manage an employee who injures his back just picking up a pencil--or wrench, etc.--off the floor?"), predominantly enlisting reminders (signs, notices) that fade into the attentional background, defaulting toward writing even more policies and procedures in hopes of mandating safe actions, applying solely awareness-based education programs that focus on understanding or incenting but not actually transferring the skills and motivation needed for boosting safer actions.
2. Recognize and reduce workers' mental blocks to soft-tissue Safety. We've heard denial comments such as "I'm too old/young/smart/experienced to get hurt" or "Hasn't happened to me" or "It's a management/tools/equipment problem." Or resignation: "I'm already hurt, too late for me" or "Just a part of getting older" or "Can't teach an old dog new tricks," and more. Remind employees that increased mental control and skills are attainable at any age (showing examples of older athletes or those, like Grandma Moses, who've taken up new skills later in life).
3. Enlist positive, not threatening, motivation. Show employees how safe behaviors can help them improve favorite personal activities. (For example: Strengthening balance is a necessary physical skill for elevating soft-tissue Safety and is simultaneously critical for heightened performance in most sports or physical activities--golf, tennis, softball, and more.)
4. Set your own and others' expectations. To optimize behavioral change, start by asking yourself, "What do I want employees to really be able to do?" Responses might range from:
• Perceiving: Seeing the "unseen," such as small-but-significant forces at work/repetition or static loading? Realizing potential impacts of off-work activities that can contribute to cumulative trauma?
• Remembering: Recall and apply policies/procedures/PPE? Remember and use previous training--both underlying principles and the specific applications covered?
• Thinking: That employees are responsible for their own actions? Being able to think and plan ahead? Listen with an open mind? Have high expectations of their own Safety?
• Responding: Select and use the best tools for a given task? Adjust to changing conditions? Port what they know to a range of other jobs? Embrace changes/modifications? Respond receptively to audits? Actively participate/support Safety?
• Communicating: Report near-misses and incidents quickly and accurately? Help others make needed adjustments? Actively participate in incident investigations?
There's a lot you can do to elevate "mental Safety." Consider that the next frontier in Safety lies within in helping to enlist workers' minds - beyond apathy, ignorance, or resistance - toward high-level performance, culture, and health.
To learn how Rehabilitation Specialists, a division of OHS-COMPCARE, can make your work environment more safe please contact our Client Services Team at 816-559-6306 or by email at customerservice@ohscompcare.com.
To learn more about services OHS-COMPCARE has to offer, contact our Client Services Team at (816) 559-6306 or by e-mail at customerservice@ohscompcare.com. You can also visit us at www.ohscompcare.com.
*Please feel free to forward this information to any member of management in your company who would benefit from it.*
OHS-COMPCARE has eight (8) area clinical facilities:
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Blue Springs Clinical Facility |
Independence Clinical Facility |
Johnson County Clinical Facility |
St. Joseph Clinical Facility |
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801 NW St. Mary’s Drive |
19000 E. Eastland Center Crt, St. 200 |
10415 Lackman Road |
904 Edmond Street |
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Blue Springs, MO 64104 |
Independence, MO 64055 |
Lenexa, KS 66219 |
St. Joseph, MO 64501 |
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816-224-9121 |
816-478-9299 |
913-495-9905 |
816-233-7702 |
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After Hours Available |
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KCMO/Broadway Clinical Facility |
KCMO/Front Street Clinical Facility |
Wyandotte County Clinical Facility |
Grandview Clinical Facility |
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1650 Broadway |
6501 East Commerce, Suite 110 |
1333 Meadowlark Lane, Suite 200 |
13830 S Us Highway 71 |
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Kansas City, MO 64108 |
Kansas City, MO 64120 |
Kansas City, KS 66102 |
Grandview, MO 64030 |
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816-842-2020 |
816-483-5550 |
913-596-2774 |
816-761-4664 |